Knife for welt-slitting machines.



No. 875,172. PATENTED DEC. 31, 1907.

J. B. HADAWAY.

KNIFE FOR WELT SLITTING MACHINES.

, APPLIOATIUN FILED FEB. 27, 1904.

VII/M' E6 7 srn'rnsmrnnr enrich.

JOHN B. HADAWAY, or BROOKTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR 'ro' UNITED SHOE MACHINERY COMPANY, or JERSEY.

PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OFNEW KNIFE non wEnT-sm'r'rme rmonmns.

Patented Dec. 31,1907.

1 Application filed February 27, 190; Serial No. 195.630.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known-that 1, JOHN B, HADAWAY, a citizen ofthe -United States, residing at Brocktominthe county of Plymouth and slitting machines.

Inthe manufacture-of. a welted boot or shoe the'welt,.which'is originally a straight strip of leather, is bent edgewise around the toe, and in order that it may lie in the plane partly through tofore proposed for slitting welts the weltbeen formed to cut slits substantially pendicular to the surface of the welt. lhis result is unsatisfactory, since only a very 'narrow portion oi the welt is weakened by of the sole it is necessary to stretch the outer margin-of the welt to a considerable extent. This is done by the'operation of beating out and the operation is facilitated by weakening the margin of the welt by slits extending the welt. 1n machines hereslitting knives have been moved to engage the surface of the welt by a movement substantially perpendicular thereto, and have eachslit, and as. the stretching is. confined chiefiy to'theslitted orti'ons the welt is liable to] crack entire y-through I at these 35 points, whichweakens it and injures' its ap-- pearance in the finished shoe.

. The object of the present invention is to, produce a weltsl-itting knife which will make oblique cut-s extending diagonally fromthe surface of the welt into the'substarice thereof so that a considerable portion of'the welt .will

be weakened by each slit to facilitate the stretching of the margin of the welt in the operation f beating out. p

To this end the invention consists in aknife for welt slitting machines which may surface of the welt and moved longitudinally be held in a position laterally inclined to the to engage ;the'-welt, in substantialhy the plane of the welt, and which has forms 7 atits for ward end a cutting edge shaped to out a 'slit' inclined to the surface of the welt-when the] knife is so moved and held. I

described manner may ave a shearing cut it is desirable to arrange the cutting edge obliquely to the'direction of motion of the knife, and in order that welts of varying thickness may be operated u on it is necessary to make the knife of suc width and incline it at such an angle that it shall always out clear through to the surface of the thickest'welt which may be 0 rated upon. Where the cutting portion oft e knife consists of a single substantially straight edge arranged as above described the length of the slit cut willldepend upon the thickness of the welt, so t lat the slit wil extend too close to the seam in the thicker welts.

It is a further object of the present invention to obviate this defect, and to this end the invention contemplates a knife having a cutting edge consistm of two portions, the."

main portion shearing out, while the other portion, which forms the termination of-the slit and may therefore be called the terminal portion of the edge, is arranged at an angle to the'inain portion and substantially p rpendicular to the direction of motion of t e knife. This knife is so arranged and operated that'sub- In order that a knife opprated in the aboveif the machine be adjusted to out a slit of pro er length for the thinnest welts being ob iqu'e so as to make a stantially the whole of the oblique portion of the edge will be employed in slitting the thinnest welt that may be operated upon, while in thethicker welts the terminal portion of the slit will be formed by the terminal portion .of the edge, and, since this ortion does not extend substantially beyon the end of the oblique portion, the slits will be of substantially the same length irrespective of the thickness of the welt. 5

Other features of the-invention will be noted in connection withthe description ofthe illustrated embodiment thereof.

Q, *A knife'madeaccordingto the present in ventionmay be used in any machine capable "of {hgldin andy'.operating-the knife in the manner a ove 'des'cribed,but itis .p'articnlarly adapted. for'uee-inthe machine shown l and .described in a pending application for Letters Patentjof the United States filed by the present appl-ioanLOctober 19, 1903, Ser. N 177557", for improvements inlwelt slitting machines, and thetillustr'ated embodi- I i are on an enlar 'ventlon comprises-a fiat bar 1 having one ems mentof the invention is designed for use in' tiallythe plane o tlieweit sndthe invention is such a machine.

In the drawings Figure 'l is a plan. iew of the knife and. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same, Fig. 3 is an end View looking from left to right in Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 is a section on line :r-az, Fig. 11. Fig.6 is a side'et at/ion showing the knife in the act of slitting a welt, and Fig. 6 is an end elevation looking toward the end of the knife in Fig. 5, the lwelt being shown in section. Fig '7 is a View of the edge, of a welt which has been operated on by the knife. All the figures d. scale.

The illustrated embodiment of the inend beveled at 2 to form a cutting the end of the bar. h its upper surface, and the main portion the edge lies, therefore, bottom of knife, while the terminal port A liesinrn-e plane of the side of the M this arrangement crowding t. elt against the Work support Ina: avoids-r The knife is intended to moved iongitodinally to engage the welt, and the main pontion .3 ofthe edge is therefore arranged obat The knile is beveled on 'lique to the length of the knife so as to in Figs. 2 and 3.

a shearing out. The. terminal portion lof the edge is substantially perpendicular to the length of theknife, as shown particularly The bottom 5 of the knife -is slightly convex, so that the knife cuts more deeply into the substance of the welt. Without bringing the lower extremity of the slit nearer to' the lower surface of the weit. The sides 6 of the knife are beveled for con venience in securing the knife in the niachn' and also to arrange the portions 3 and 4 of edge at the proper angle. The lower corners of the knife are rounded off to avoid a sharp an le at the. junction. between the parts 3 an 4 of the cutting edge.

The mode of operation of the knife shown in Figs. 5 and 6, where the knifeis shown engaging a portion of a Welt 7 resting u on the Work sup ort 8 of the machine. The gures show a we t of minimum thickness, and the knife is so adjusted that the Whole of the oblique portion 3-of the edge engages and slits the welt, the slit extending inward substantially to the extremity of the knife. It will be seen that even if a much thicker Welt, as indicated by the dotted lines, be 0 erated upon, the length of the slit will still e substantially the same, since the terminal portion of the slit will be formed by the terminal portion 4 of the edge, which does not extend substantially beyond the end of the main portion 3.

[t is broadly new, so far as the applicant is aware, to make a knife for welt-slitting machines which is ada'ited to cut an inclined slit in a welt when he d in inclined position and reciprocated longitudinally in sulretam its broadest limited of knife shown and do scribed, but inay be embodied in any form of knife which will operate in the ahovoede scribed marine it has, however, been found that o i'eatures of construction erally incl. red to the surface i reeinrorzal: i

d longitudrri.

the I for Welt slitting machines lliL'V" b s ed to cut slits of sub stantieiiy the same is i thiclmesses i hen the clined to the surface Li in welts of various of the Welt and. is reoi v the plane of the wet,

1 ing machines consistnig of" a flat her having an inohned surface at and meeting the bottom surface of the knife to form a cutting edge oblique to the length oi. the knife shaped to cut a trans verse inclined slit in a weit when the. knife is re ciprocated longitudinally in substantially the plane of the welt. substantially described.

4. A knife for W machines hav ing a i-ylindricai iOw and in clined sin at one the knife is reciprocated longitudinaliy in substantially the olane of the welt, sul stantially as described.

5. A knife for welt-siitting machines conslsting of a let bar having a cutting edge at its end comprising two portions arranged at an angle with each other, and shaped to out a transverse inclined slit, in a welt when the knife is rociprocated longitudinally in substantially the plane of thewelt,substantially as described v 6. A knife for Welt--slitting machines having a cutting edge comprising a mainnortion oblique to the length of the knife am. a terminal portion arranged at an angle with the main portion and substantially at right angles with the length of the kuife,said cutting edge being shaped to cut a transverse inclined slit in a Welt when the knife is reciprocated longitudinally in substantially the plane'of the welt, substantially described.

7. A knife for wclt-slittin machines having acutting edge mimtj l'isl wo iiortions Wife is laterally in end meeting lower surface to form curved cutting edge shaped to cut atransverselnclinod slit in awelt when evens '2 I iying in the bottom and a side, respectively, of the knife, and shaped to cut a transverse inclined slit in e Welt When the knife is reciproosted longitudinally in substantially the plane of the Welt substantially as described.

8. [Lknife for Welt-slitting machines having a. convex bottom, oblique sides, and rounded lower corners, and beveled at one end to form a cutting edge lying in the bottom and one side of the knife, substantially as described.

9. A knife for Welt-slitting machines having a cuttin edge comprising two portions lying in the bottom and a side, respectively,

of the knife and arranged et en obtuse angle 15 with each other, substantially as described.

10. A knife for Weltslitting machines, having, in combination, a convex bottom and a list side arrangedat en obtuse angle therewith, and beveled at one end to form at 20 cutting edge lying in the bottom and side, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN B. HADAWAY. Witnesses:

BENJAMIN PHILLIPS, Holman VAN EVEREN. 

